As to the story of Brutus in particular, Geoffrey’s hero, it may be presumed, that his legend was not contrived, nor the history of his successors invented, until after the ninth century; for Nennius,[44] who lived about the middle of that century, not only speaks of Brutus with great obscurity and inconsistency, but seems totally uninformed as to every circumstance of the British affairs which preceded Cæsar’s invasion. There are other proofs that this piece could not have existed before the ninth century. Alfred’s Saxon translation of the Mercian law is mentioned; and Charlemagne’s twelve peers, by an anachronism not uncommon in romance, are said to be present at king Arthur’s magnificent coronation, in the city of Caerleon. It were easy to produce instances, that Geoffrey’s chronicle was, undoubtedly, framed after the legend of St. Ursula, the acts of St. Lucius, and the historical writings of Venerable Bede, had procured a considerable circulation in the neighbouring countries. At the same time it contains many passages which incline us to determine, that some parts of it, at least, were written after or about the eleventh century. Warton, (Hist. of Eng. Poetry, Dis. 1.) in order to prove these positions, says, that he will not insist on that passage, in which the title of legate of the apostolic see is attributed to Dubricius, in the character of the primate of Britain, as it appears for obvious reasons, to have been an artful interpolation of Geoffrey, who, it will be remembered, was an ecclesiastic. Other arguments present themselves, possessing more efficiency; Canute’s forest, or Cannock Wood, in Staffordshire, occurs, and Canute died in the year 1036.